Malaga begins process to build more than 4,000 social housing homes in Campanillas

The plans provide for 7,339 homes, of which 4,140 will be designated as social housing. Following years of preliminary studies by the owners of the two land sectors involved, Málaga City Council takes a major step this Tuesday towards development, with the Local Governing Board expected to approve a procedure allowing the transformation to proceed under a single planning framework.

The approval gives the go-ahead for an urban regeneration project being processed ex officio by the council itself. However, developing these plots to allow for construction will take several years and faces two major hurdles: the requirement to channel the River Campanillas to eliminate flood risks, and a current lack of electrical grid capacity that threatens the feasibility of building on this scale.

Regarding the energy deficit, landowners will have to demonstrate they hold the necessary power reserves before advancing to the next planning stages. The development plan must initially be approved within two years. Carmen Casero, Councillor for Urban Planning, expressed confidence that central government would step in to resolve the infrastructure shortfall. “We hope that these electricity-related challenges will be addressed,” she said.

Concerning the high flood risk across the 107-hectare site, Penélope Gómez, Councillor for Sustainability, revealed that the Regional Government of Andalusia has approved plans drawn up by private developers—advised by architectural practice Ángel Asenjo and legal firm Ius Urbis—to carry out comprehensive works on the River Campanillas, stretching from upstream right down to its confluence with the River Guadalhorce.

Rather than the Andalusian Government’s original proposal for a concrete box culvert, a ‘softer’ environmental solution has been selected. This involves creating a low-water channel lined with scaled-down concrete walls, flanked by embankments designed to double as a riverside park capable of withstanding a 500-year flood event.

The agreement with the regional government requires intervention along the entire length of the river, starting from its confluence with the Pilones stream. Landowners in the Campanillas floodplain will fund the riverbed works adjacent to their plots and pay to widen the existing bridge near the centre of the neighbourhood to handle higher water flows.

These private sector flood-mitigation measures will cost over €40m. The remaining amount - up to around €100m - will need to be covered by the regional government or European funding. To formalise this, the City Council will sign an agreement with the regional executive detailing each party's financial commitments to mitigate the flood risk, which was highlighted again during recent heavy rainfall.

In total, the Town Planning Department estimates overall development costs for both sectors at €134m, covering all road networks and associated utility infrastructure. This substantial sum could impact the commercial viability of the housing scheme. Following Tuesday's approval, the proposal will go to public consultation for formal feedback.

The developments, named Vega Los Martínez and Vega San Ginés, will feature residential blocks rising up to six storeys (ground plus six). Notably, while standard regional regulations mandate a 30 per cent social housing quota, this project raises that proportion to 56 per cent.

Vega Los Martínez is slated to deliver 1,768 social housing units, while Vega San Ginés will add 2,372 affordable flats. The combined total of 4,140 affordable homes would offer substantial relief to Malaga's housing market at a time when affordable options are in short supply.

The flood risk posed by the River Campanillas remains a documented threat. Since the early 20th century, the river has burst its banks around ten times, damaging homes, businesses, roads and agricultural property, with historical data pointing to a high probability of severe flooding at least once per century.